No player did more with his opportunities on Friday night than Matt Asiata. If only he hadn't let the ball hit the ground.
Listed as a fullback, Asiata replaced Lex Hilliard at halfback in the second quarter, rushed for 48 yards on nine carries (5.3 average) with a long of 18 and scored a touchdown on one of his two catches for 6 yards.
But the performance was marred by Asiata's fumble at the Chargers' 3-yard line, stopping the best and final drive for the Vikings' starters midway through the third quarter.
"It sucks when you fumble, and I just felt like I let the whole line down, the whole starters down," said Asiata, the former Utah back in his second camp with the Vikings.
"Going down to the red zone and giving up the ball, I felt like I let my team down. It happens, but I've just got to get out of my head and keep playing football."
Asiata wasn't alone in his mistake. Hilliard fumbled on the latter of his two carries for 2 yards, and rookie Derrick Coleman -- one of the 15 players the Vikings waived on Saturday -- also fumbled in the red zone.
The Vikings still are unsettled at the third halfback spot behind Adrian Peterson and Toby Gerhart. The other candidate, Jordan Todman, missed the first two preseason games with a sprained ankle and rushed twice for 7 yards on Friday.
"I think each of them turned that ball over (Friday). That wasn't so good," coach Leslie Frazier said. "They had some good runs between them, but it's discouraging when the ball is on the ground. We'll have to continue to evaluate that position and make a decision in which direction to go."
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